


A Winning Bet

by Briar_Rose7



Series: I've never been with a knight before [2]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, canon? i don't know her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 04:52:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18887548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briar_Rose7/pseuds/Briar_Rose7
Summary: The morning following the Winterfell feast, Sansa can't find Brienne.





	A Winning Bet

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another Braime ficlet, because I refuse to accept the depressing canon and I've decided to bury myself in fluffy fics forever. I've decided to make a series of these ficlets, and so far it's been canon-compliant, but I have no doubt that sooner or later I'll write an AU one in which Jaime and Brienne are happy and together even after the events of 8x04. 
> 
> Infinite thanks to [fangirl-in-figureskates](https://fangirl-in-figureskates.tumblr.com), my beta!

It wasn’t like Brienne to be late. She was usually up and about by the time Sansa ate her breakfast, but today she was nowhere to be found. Sure, the big feast of the previous night had been the cause for plenty of hangovers and so almost everyone was oversleeping, but Brienne had never been one to drink excessively. By now it was getting seriously late and Sansa didn’t want to join the council with Daenerys without her sworn sword.

“Lady Sansa,” Tyrion greeted her as he sat down for breakfast in the hall, looking positively more tired than she was. “I hope your head isn’t hurting half as much as mine; at least some of us ought to be lucid enough to discuss strategies.”

“Have you seen Ser Brienne? It’s not like her to be late.”

It was unlikely that Tyrion would know, but it was worth a shot. After all, Brienne seemed to be spending a lot of time with his brother, and they had all sat together during the feast last night. There was a strange look in Tyrion’s eyes as if he suddenly realized something; whatever it was, it seemed to make him rather happy.

“I’m afraid not, but you should ask Podrick. He’s her squire, so if there’s someone who can tell you anything, it’s him,” he suggested, a knowing little smile on his face as if he knew more than he let up. Nevertheless, it was a good idea, and Sansa had just gotten up to go look for Podrick when he entered the room. 

“Lady Sansa, Ser Brienne apologizes for being late and says she’ll be here in a few minutes. I’m afraid this is my fault: I overslept and didn’t wake her up in time,” he said before Sansa could even question him. Podrick moved to sit next to Tyrion, who gave him a questioning look, to which the boy answered with a nod while dropping a few coins in Tyrion’s hands.

“As I once told your mother, I never bet against my family,” Tyrion told Sansa as a sort of explanation.

There was _definitely_ something going on, and Sansa was extremely curious as to what it was. In that moment, Brienne entered the room; aside from being late, there was clearly something off about her. She was still fastening the sword at her hip, her hair was not quite in place, and she looked almost flustered. This could possibly be explained with her having rushed to get dressed after waking up late, but Sansa couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to it, and she resolved to ask Brienne about it as soon as they were alone.

“Well, I’ll go look for my brother now,” Tyrion said, standing up. “Last time I saw him he walked away with a jug full of Dornish wine.”

He briefly smirked up at Brienne as he walked past her, an all-knowing look in his eyes, and the furious blush that suddenly spread over Brienne’s cheeks made all the pieces suddenly fall into place in Sansa’s mind. Brienne had vouched for Jaime. She had fought beside him. He had knighted her and spent the whole feast drinking with her. _Oh_.

Right on cue, Jaime Lannister walked into the hall, looking every bit as rumpled as Brienne. They glanced briefly at each other, and Sansa couldn’t help but feel happy for Brienne. Jaime Lannister wasn’t exactly her favorite person in the castle, but if he could make Brienne happy, she wasn’t going to complain.

“Ser Jaime,” she called him. “I hear you fought quite valiantly against the dead. I’m glad we decided to trust you and let you stay.”

“Thank you, Lady Stark,” he replied, and Sansa could see that he was unsure of where she was going with this.

“However, the Night King has been defeated now; you honored your promise, so what are you going to do now?”

She wanted to know where his loyalty lay. Sure, ifhe was still loyal to Cersei, he would hardly profess it while he was under her enemies’ roof, but there were things to learn even from the way a man lied. This new development between him and Brienne, however, made the question personal as well as political. The Gods knew that if there had ever been someone deserving happiness, it was Brienne , and if Jaime Lannister planned on ditching her right after spending the night with her, he would find an enemy in Sansa regardless of his political affiliations.

Jaime seemed taken aback by her words for a moment, and took a few seconds to ponder over his answer, which Sansa considered a wise choice.

“I am a Lannister. In the past, I’ve fought against the Stark and the Targaryen armies alike, as you well know. My name compels me to fight you again, but I can’t do it, not after what we’ve all been through. I don’t want to take arms against the people who fought death with me. If I’m allowed, Lady Stark, I’d like to stay.”

Even if Sansa had been distracted enough to miss Brienne’s blush earlier, there was no missing the way she and Jaime turned to look at each other when he said he wanted to stay. It was all Sansa needed to know.

“You can consider yourself my guest. I shall not ask you to take arms against your own family, but I don’t need to tell you what will happen if you ever decide to betray us.”

Jaime nodded, and Sansa could consider herself satisfied. She had a lot of fun watching Jaime and Brienne exchange glances as they ate, and Tyrion - who had decided to stay in the hall for a bit longer - silently shared her amusement. When she eventually left the hall, her former husband followed her.

“So,” he said as soon as he caught up with her. “How much are you willing to bet on when he’s going to propose?”


End file.
